The Invincible Dragon. Trained in the Kyokugen Style of Karate by his father Takuma, Ryo was forced to care for himself and his younger sister when he was 10 after their mother Lonette died in a car accident and their father disappeared shortly afterward. He makes his living by earning money on street fights. Whenever she saw Ryo in such condition, Yuri's desire to run away became greater. When Yuri is kidnapped by Mr. Big, Ryo and his friend, Robert, scour Southtown while battling its toughest enforcers and Mob bosses to rescue her, finding out that his father was still alive under the guise of Mr. Karate. After the incident, Ryo went to the mountains to train himself in combat, only to return to to Southtown a year later to participate in the King of Fighters tournament sponsored by Geese Howard. Despite beating him, Geese had managed to escape.

Laser-Guided Karma: A positive example. When he decides to relent his attack on King, she provides him with the whereabouts of Mr. Big and Yuri. In 2, it's revealed that Ryo paid for Jean's operation, earning him King's admiration, friendship, and possibly more.

The Raging Tiger. The son of multi-billionaire businessman, Alberto Garcia. To teach Robert humility and discipline, Alberto sent him to Takuma's dojo, where he met and befriended Takuma's children: Ryo and Yuri. Despite their initial differences, he and Ryo developed a mutual respect for one another's abilities, eventually becoming both friend and rival to each other. He developed a different kind of relationship with Yuri...which was carefully monitored by her father and brother. Robert returned home to Italy, after completing his training, where his father began teaching him the family business. Years later, he receives word of Yuri's kidnapping and rejoins Ryo. The two of them search Southtown, facing many of its worst criminals and Mob bosses to find her. They eventually learn that Mr. Big orchestrated Yuri's abduction and defeat him. After the incident, Robert trained himself in combat, only to return to to Southtown a year later to participate in the King of Fighters tournament sponsored by Geese Howard.

After these events, Robert visited Mexico to help Freya Lawrence, a childhood friend, save her brother Wyler. Wyler is attempting to perfect a drug that will enhance one's physical characteristics to superhuman levels. Robert beats Wyler, but due to the usage of the drug his mind has been destroyed. Freya, concerned for Wyler's well being, decides to stay with him in order to take care of him, and the adventure comes to an end.

Informed Flaw: The Ryugeki principle of Kyokugen-ryuu is said to have severe imbalances as it relies mainly on kicks, placing it between the Raiou and Kou'ou principles (Raiou is the lowest principle and is used by Yuri; it revolves around user instinct and creativity), but closer to the former. Tell that to Robert.

Ryuhaku Todoh is the creator and main teacher of Todoh style karate, which derives its style from Aikido and Kendo. Todoh had a long standing rivalry with disciples of the Kyokugenryu school of karate and considers them a threat to his style of teaching in terms of profits as well as personal animosity dating back to a rivalry with Takuma Sakazaki when both men were very young. On his quest to find his younger sister Yuri, who had been abducted by Mr. Big under Geese Howard's orders, Ryo Sakazaki blatantly attacked Todoh at his school and fought him to interrogate him about the whereabouts of his sister. After Ryo easily defeated Todoh, he was humiliated and saw his schools finances as well as his attendance at his schools suffer. After the loss, Todoh went into hiding and hasn't been seen since. Because of his disappearance, his daughter Kasumi went on a personal quest to not only try to look for her father, but to gain revenge on Ryo and all Kyokugenryu disciples to try to reclaim her family's honor.

Running Gag: His absence in the series (which was retained in The King of Fighters) as well as Kasumi's resolve to find him. This in fact ascended into meta humor, as the magazine Neo Geo Freak's Running Gag was "Where's Ryuhaku?"

Jack was a member of Mr. Big's syndicate, and a developer of his own fighting style. As one of Mr. Big's highest-ranking subordinates, he waits at Mac's Bar to devastate anyone who crosses his path. Jack is also the leader of the Southtown based bike gang known as the Neo Black Cats. He is defeated by Ryo and Robert, losing favor with members of his gang. In the tournament held by Geese Howard, Jack tries to reestablish his control over the Neo Black Cats by winning the Tournament and defeating Mr. Big. Humorously, in Jack's ending in, it was revealed that he wanted to make the gang into a dance group.

Lee is a master of Chinese medicine and Chinese martial arts, the latter of which is dubbed as "a gentle yet destructive" art. His adoptive father and mentor, Lee Gakusuo, passed on his pharmaceutic knowledge and martial arts to him before instructing Lee to finish his studies in South Town. Once he arrived there, Lee became fascinated with the local style of Kenpo and neglected his roots to be a street fighter. When Ryo was looking for information on Yuri's disappearance, he goes to Lee. Since he is a former adversary and long-time friend of Ryo's father Takuma, he faced the son in battle to test his skills. During the tournament, he still sought to test his fighting skill but also pursues his father's wishes to be a pharmacist.

The bouncer at L'amour, a particularly fancy club. Seems generic enough, until you win the match with a fireball and see her bra. King originally dressed like a man to enter Muay Thai tournaments, but kept up the appearance because L'amour wouldn't hire women. Eventually she opens her own club alongside Duck King, but keeps up the look.

Mickey was a professional boxer, but was expelled from the ranks after he accidentally killed a man in the ring. As a small time hood, he worked for Mr. Big so that he can get money as a street hustler. Confronted by Ryo and Robert, Mickey sought opponents to vent his anger and frustration on. After Mr. Big's defeat, he reforms and enters the tournament to test his skill, wanting to get back into the professional boxing circuit.

A martial arts instructor with a brutal and aggressive fighting style, John was a member of Mr. Big's gang. The former marine was challenged by Ryo and Robert and he lost the battle. Later on, he enters the tournament to win the prize money and test his skills.

A Southtown crimelord, operating under Geese Howard (whom he loathes). In order to give Takuma Sakazaki an incentive to work for them, he had Yuri abducted. Despite being the operative villain of the first game, he's not the final boss in any of the Art of Fighting games.

Takuma Sakazaki is an somewhat eccentric character. He is donning a tengu mask and insists he's Mr. Karate, and delivering speeches that are supposed to rally morale, but often make him look silly.

In the midst of Takuma's aim to spread the Kyokugenryu discipline, crime started infesting Southtown, and Geese Howard made himself the de facto boss of the city. Unwilling to live with it, Takuma fought his way through lackeys and stooges and confronted Geese himself, demanding that he put an end to the tyranny. Geese replied with threats against Takuma's children, knowing that they meant the world to him. In order to preserve his honor, Takuma donned a tengu mask and formed another persona: "Mr. Karate." While Geese was out on business, Mr. Big was in charge. In order to keep Takuma firmly under his control, Mr. Big had Yuri kidnapped. Unfortunately, that move caused Ryo and Robert to tear up Southtown in search of her and Takuma. When Robert got to Mr. Big and defeated him, Big called for Mr. Karate, and he came out to battle Ryo by Robert's favor because he was already exhausted. Although Ryo won, he threatened to kill Mr. Karate if he didn't tell him where Takuma and Yuri were. Yuri stopped Ryo from killing their father, and they had a joyous reunion.

A year later, he entered the tournament to get revenge on Geese and Mr. Big.

Badass Grandpa: Not that old (he's 49 in the second game), but still...

Ryo's little sister, abducted by Mr. Big in the first game. In the second game, she's gotten a lot more capable of protecting herself. Like her big brother, she practices Kyokugen. A very...energetic girl, and a mainstay in The King of Fighters.

NPC: In 3, due to being wounded by Sinclair. She appears as a side character in Ryo and Robert's story, and can assist Robert in a last-ditch shot against Wyler.

Rescue Romance: It's implied that Yuri fell for Robert after he and Ryo saved her at the end of the first game. Some of this is seen in the scenes interspersed during the credits reel in 2. In the third game, they actually seem to hook up in Robert and Ryo's endings.

The commissioner of police, and even more corrupt than Mr. Big. He appears as a secret boss in Art of Fighting 2, and goes on (chronologically) to become an even worse danger to Southtown once we reach Fatal Fury.

Daughter of Ryohaku Todoh, who has disappeared. She sets out to find him, but has some trouble as she only speaks Japanese. In her Victory Pose, she pulls out a phrasebook. She keeps up the family's rivalry with the Sakazakis (her team in The King of Fighters XI is the Anti-Kyokugen Team).

Demoted to Extra: For the most part Averted Trope as she became a recurring character in The King of Fighters. However, she was the only character whom debuted in AOF3 who didn't play this trope straight.

Wang went to Glass Hill for inspiration for a drawing he plans to enter in a contest, Wang heard about Wyler's attempt to create a powerful elixir, and decided to attempt to find it himself for his friend Lee Pai Long.

Wyler is looking for Freia Lawrence, the daughter of his dead father's former partner, who possesses information about a formula for some kind of "Jekyll and Hyde" formula that he is attempting to create. The essential data needed for completing it was taken by Freia's father when the two's partnership broke up. Wyler believes this action is the cause of his father becoming destitute and even the cause of his death. Freia now has the data.

Wyler hires the private investigator partnership of Rody Birts and Lenny Creston to find her (they are convinced it is for romantic reasons). Freia is also being sought out by her old childhood friend Robert Garcia. Wyler finds Freia, though seemingly without the help of the private eyes he hired, completes his elixir and takes it himself, turning into a large Hulk-like man. However, it has an unforeseen after-effect and reverts his mind to a child-like state. Freia chose to stay and tend to him..